Method for storing on a computer network a portion of a communication session between a packet source and a packet destination

ABSTRACT

Storing at least a portion of a computer network-based session such as a telephone session being performed on a computer network between a packet source and a packet destination, in which the following can occur in an embodiment of the invention. Data packets are received on the computer network. Each data packet is filtered to determine if said data packet is a session packet. If the data packet is a session packet, it is filtered to determine if the data includes session data. If the data includes session data, the session data is analyzed. The session packet is stored such that the stored session packet comprises a portion of the telephone session.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/664,755, which was filed on Sep. 19, 2000, now pending, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/140,453, filed onAug. 26, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,665, issued on Sep. 19, 2000,which are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in theirrespective entireties herein.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND

The present invention is of a method and a system for the management ofcommunication sessions for computer network-based telephonecommunication, and in particular for the identification of packetscontaining audio and/or video data, for the storage of these packets,and for the reconstruction of selected communication sessions for audioand/or video display as needed.

The integration of the computer into office communication systems hasenabled many functions previously performed by separate devices to becombined into a single management system operated through a computer.For example, computer-based voice logging systems enable a computer toreceive voice communication through a hardware connection to the regulartelephony network, to record either a conversation, in which at leasttwo parties converse, or a message from at least one party to one ormore parties, and to replay these recorded conversations or messagesupon request. These voice logging systems can replace mechanicaltelephone answering machines.

The computer logging systems have many advantages over the mechanicalanswering machines. For example, the voice messages can be stored in acomputer-based storage medium, such as a DAT cassette, which has agreater storage capacity than regular audio cassettes. Furthermore, thestored voice messages can be organized in a database, such that themessages can retrieved according to time, date, channel, dialed numberor caller identification, for example. Such organization is not possiblewith a mechanical telephone answering machine. Thus, computer loggingsystems for voice messages have many advantages over mechanicalanswering machines.

Unfortunately, currently available computer logging systems have thedisadvantage of being unable to record telephone communication sessions,whether conversations or messages, for voice communication beingperformed through a LAN (local area network) or a WAN (wide areanetwork). Although these logging systems can play back voice messages toa remote user through a LAN, for example, they cannot record such amessage if it is transmitted by a LAN-based telephone. Such LAN and WANbased telephone communication has become more popular recently, since itenables telephone communication to be performed between various partiesat physically separated sites without paying for local regular telephonynetwork services, thereby saving money.

Furthermore, LAN and WAN based telephone communication also facilitatesthe transmission of video as well as audio information. Videoinformation certainly cannot be recorded by currently available computerlogging systems. Thus, the inability of computer logging systems torecord telephone communication sessions for telephone communicationbeing performed through a LAN or a WAN, including both video and audiodata, is a significant disadvantage of these systems.

There is therefore a need for, and it would be highly advantageous tohave, a system and a method for recording telephone communicationsessions performed over a computer network such as a LAN or a WAN, whichwould record both audio and video information, organize suchinformation, and then display such information upon request.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of the present invention to provide a system and amethod for recording communication sessions performed over a computernetwork.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a systemand method for analyzing data transmitted over the computer network inorder to detect audio and video data for recording.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide such asystem and method for displaying recorded video and audio data uponrequest.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such asystem and method for analyzing, recording and displaying communicationsessions conducted with a LAN-based telephone system.

These and other objects of the present invention are explained infurther detail with regard to the drawings, description and claimsprovided below.

The present invention provides a system and a method for analyzing datapackets on a computer network, for selectively recording audio and videodata packets, for organizing this stored information and for displayingthe stored information upon request, such that communication sessionswith computer network-based “telephone” systems can be logged.

According to the teachings of the present invention, there is provided asystem for managing a communication session over a computer network, thesystem comprising: (a) a network connector for connecting to thecomputer network and for receiving data packets from the computernetwork; (b) a filtering unit for filtering the data packets and foraccepting the data packets substantially only if the data packetscontain data selected from the group consisting of audio data and videodata, such that the data packets form at least a portion of thecommunication session and such that the data packets are selected datapackets; (c) a management unit for receiving the selected data packetsand for storing the selected data packets, such that the selected datapackets are stored data packets; and (d) a storage medium for receivingand for storing the stored data packets from the management unit, suchthat the at least a portion of the communication session is stored.

Preferably, the system further comprises (e) a data restore unit forretrieving and displaying the at least a portion of the communicationsession, the data restore unit requesting the data packets from thestorage medium through the management unit, and the data restore unitreconstructing the data packets for displaying the at least a portion ofthe communication session.

More preferably, the data restore unit further comprises a communicationsession display unit for displaying the at least a portion of thecommunication session. Most preferably, the communication sessiondisplay unit is selected from the group consisting of a video unit andan audio unit.

According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the systemfurther comprises (f) a database connected to the filtering unit forstoring filtering information, the filtering information including atleast one IP address of a party whose communication sessions aremonitored; wherein the filtering unit accepts the data packets accordingto the filtering information, such that the filtering unit substantiallyonly accepts the data packets if the data packets fulfill the filteringinformation.

Preferably, the system further comprises (g) a user computer forreceiving at least one command of a user and for displaying informationto the user, such that the user determines the filtering informationaccording to the at least one command of the user.

More preferably, the computer network is selected from the groupconsisting of a LAN (local area network) and a WAN (wide area network).Most preferably, the computer network is a LAN (local area network).

According to further preferred embodiments of the present invention, theLAN is divided into at least two segments, the system furthercomprising: (h) a local management unit for each segment, the localmanagement unit including the filtering unit and the management unit;and (i) a central management unit for controlling the local managementunits, the central management unit controlling storage in the storagemedium.

Preferably, the network connector is a network interface card.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method for storing at least a portion of a communicationsession performed on a computer network, the communication session beingperformed between a packet source and a packet destination, the steps ofthe method being performed by a data processor, the method comprisingthe steps of: (a) receiving a data packet from the packet source on thecomputer network; (b) analyzing the data packet to determine if the datapacket is an IP packet; (c) if the data packet is the IP packet,filtering the IP packet to determine a type of the IP packet; and (d)storing the IP packet to form a stored data packet according to thetype, such that the stored data packet forms at least a portion of thecommunication session. Preferably, the step of analyzing the data packetis performed by examining a header of the data packet.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stepof filtering the IP packet is performed by examining the header of theIP packet.

Preferably, the step of filtering the IP packet further comprises thesteps of: (i) examining the header of the IP packet to determine an IPaddress of the packet source; (ii) determining if the IP address is arecorded IP address; (iii) passing the IP packet to form a passed IPpacket substantially only if the IP address is the recorded IP address;and (iv) alternatively, dumping the IP packet.

More preferably, the step of determining if the IP address is therecorded IP address is performed by comparing the IP address to a listof IP addresses from packet sources, such that if the IP address isincluded in the list, the IP address is the recorded IP address.

Also preferably, the step of filtering the IP packet further comprisesthe steps of: (v) determining whether the passed IP packet is an H.225packet, a H.245 packet, an RTP packet or an RTCP packet; (vi) if thetype of the passed IP packet is the H.225 packet, determining whetherthe H.225 packet is a setup packet or a connect packet; (vii) if theH.225 packet is the setup packet, setting a status flag as “startsession request”; (viii) alternatively, if the H.225 packet is theconnect packet and the status flag is “start session request”, storingat least one detail of the communication session; and (ix) setting thestatus flag as “wait for logic channel”.

More preferably, the step of filtering the IP packet further comprisesthe steps of: (x) alternatively, if the type of the passed IP packet isthe H.245 packet, determining whether the H.245 packet is an openlogical channel request packet, an open logical channel acknowledgmentpacket or a terminal capability set packet; (xi) if the H.245 packet isthe open logical channel request packet and the status flag is “wait forlogic channel”, setting the status flag as “wait for acknowledgment”;(xii) alternatively, if the H.245 packet is the open logical channelacknowledgment packet and the status flag is “wait for acknowledgment”,performing the steps of: (A) setting the status flag as “wait forterminal capability”; and (B) saving a transport address of thedestination of the communication session; and (xiii) also alternatively,if the H.245 packet is the terminal capability set packet, performingthe steps of: (A) storing a capability of the packet destination fromthe terminal capability packet; and (B) setting the status flag as “incall process”.

Most preferably, if the status flag is “in call process” and the type ofthe passed IP packet is the RTP packet, the RTP packet is stored. Alsomost preferably, if the status flag is “in call process” and the type ofthe passed IP packet is the RTCP packet, the RTCP packet is stored.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, themethod further comprises the steps of: (e) retrieving the stored datapacket to form a retrieved data packet; and (i) reconstructing at leasta portion of the communication session according to the retrieved datapacket.

Preferably, the step of retrieving the data packet includes the stepsof: (i) receiving a source IP address of the packet source, a start timeof the communication session, and an end time of the communicationsession; and (ii) selecting at least one communication session accordingto the source IP address, the start time and the end time.

Also preferably, the step of reconstructing at least a portion of thecommunication session includes displaying audio data.

Alternatively and also preferably, the step of reconstructing at least aportion of the communication session includes displaying video data.

More preferably, the step of reconstructing at least a portion of thecommunication session further comprises the steps of: (i) retrievingsubstantially only RTP packets; (ii) examining a header of the RTPpackets to determine a time stamp for each of the RTP packets; and (iii)displaying the RTP packets in an order according to the time stamp.

Hereinafter, the term “communication session” includes both aconversation, in which at least two parties converse by exchanging audioand/or video information in “real time”, and a message, in which atleast one party records such audio and/or video information forreception by at least one other party at a later date.

Hereinafter, the term “Internet” is used to generally designate theglobal, linked web of thousands of networks which is used to connectcomputers all over the world. As used herein, the term “intranet”includes other types of computer networks, such as LAN (local areanetworks) or WAN (wide area networks). The term “computer network”includes any connection between at least two computers which permits thetransmission of data, including both Internet and intranet. The term“regular telephony network” includes POTS (plain old telephone system)and substantially any other type of telephone network which providesservices through a regular telephone services provider, but whichspecifically excludes audio and/or video communication performed throughany type of computer network.

Hereinafter, the term “computer” includes, but is not limited to,personal computers (PC) having an operating system such as DOS,Windows™, OS/2™ or Linux; MacIntosh™ computers; computers havingJAVA™-OS as the operating system; and graphical workstations such as thecomputers of Sun Microsystems™ and Silicon Graphics™, and othercomputers having some version of the UNIX operating system such as AIXor SOLARIS™ of Sun Microsystems™; or any other known and availableoperating system. Hereinafter, the term “Windows™” includes but is notlimited to Windows95™, Windows 3.x™ in which “x” is an integer such as“1”, Windows NT™, Windows98™, Windows CE™ and any upgraded versions ofthese operating systems by Microsoft Inc. (Seattle, Wash., USA).

Hereinafter, the term “logging” refers to the process of analyzing datapackets on a network to locate audio and/or video data, and of recordingsuch data in an organized system. Hereinafter, the term “display”includes both the visual display of video data, and the production ofsound for audio data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary communicationsession monitoring system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the software modules required foroperating the system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A-3D are flowcharts of exemplary filtering and recording methodsaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4D are schematic block diagrams showing the headers of H.225(FIG. 4A), H.245 (FIG. 4B), RTP (FIG. 4C) and RTCP (FIG. 4D) packets, asthey relate to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary communication session playbackmethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary first embodiment ofa basic system using the communication session monitoring system ofFIGS. 1 and 2 according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary second embodiment ofa zone system according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF BACKGROUND ART

The following description is intended to provide a description ofcertain background methods and technologies which are optionally used inthe method and system of the present invention. The present invention isspecifically not drawn to these methods and technologies alone. Rather,they are used as tools to accomplish the goal of the present invention,which is a system and a method for analyzing data packets on a computernetwork, for selectively recording audio and video data packets, fororganizing this stored information and for displaying the storedinformation upon request, such that communication sessions with computernetwork-based “telephone” systems can be logged.

The system and method of the present invention is particularly intendedfor operation with computer networks constructed according to the ITU-TRecommendation H.323 for visual telephone systems and equipment forlocal area networks which provide a non-guaranteed quality of service.Recommendation H.323 is herein incorporated by reference in order tofurther describe the hardware requirements and operating protocols forsuch computer networks, and is hereinafter referred to as “H.323”.

H.323 describes terminals, equipment and services for multimediacommunication over Local Area Networks (LAN) which do not provide aguaranteed quality of service. Computer terminals and equipment whichfulfill H.323 may carry real-time voice, data and video, or anycombination, including videotelephony.

The LAN over which such terminals communicate can be a single segment orring, or optionally can include multiple segments with complextopologies. These terminals are optionally integrated into computers oralternatively are implemented in stand-alone devices such asvideotelephones. Support for voice data is required, while support forgeneral data and video data are optional, but if supported, the abilityto use a specified common mode of operation is required, so that allterminals supporting that particular media type can communicate. TheH.323 Recommendation allows more than one channel of each type to be inuse. Other Recommendations in the H.323-Series which are alsoincorporated by reference include H.225.0 packet and synchronization;H.245 control, H.261 and H.263 video codecs, G.711, G.722, G.728, G.729,and G.723 audio codecs, and the T.120-Series of multimediacommunications protocols.

ITU-T Recommendation H.245.0 covers the definition of Media streampacketization and synchronization for visual telephone systems. ITU-TRecommendation H.245.0 defines the Control protocol for multimediacommunications, and is hereinafter referred to as “H.245”. H.245 isincorporated by reference as is fully set forth herein.

The logical channel signaling procedures of H.245 describes the contentof each logical channel when the channel is opened. Procedures areprovided for the communication of the functional capabilities ofreceivers and transmitters, so that transmissions are limited toinformation which can be decoded by the receivers, and so that receiversmay request a particular desired mode from transmitters.

H.245 signaling is established between two endpoints: an endpoint and amultipoint controller, or an endpoint and a Gatekeeper. The endpointestablishes exactly one H.245 Control Channel for each call that theendpoint is participating in. The channel must then operate according toH.245. Support for multiple calls and hence for multiple H.245 ControlChannels is possible.

The RAS signaling function uses H.225.0 messages to performregistration, admissions, bandwidth changes, status, and disengageprocedures between endpoints and Gatekeepers. In LAN environments thatdo not have a Gatekeeper, the RAS Signaling Channel is not used. In LANenvironments which contain a Gatekeeper, such that the LAN includes atleast one Zone, the RAS Signaling Channel is opened between the endpointand the Gatekeeper. The RAS Signaling Channel is opened prior to theestablishment of any other channels between H.323 endpoints.

The call signaling function uses H.225.0 call signaling to establish aconnection between two H.323 endpoints. The Call Signaling Channel isindependent from the RAS Channel and the H.245 Control Channel. The CallSignaling Channel is opened prior to the establishment of the H.245Channel and any other logical channels between H.323 endpoints. Insystems that do not have a Gatekeeper, the Call Signaling Channel isopened between the two endpoints involved in the call. In systems whichcontain a Gatekeeper, the Call Signaling Channel is opened between theend point and the Gatekeeper, or between the endpoints themselves aschosen by the Gatekeeper.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides a system and a method for analyzing datapackets on a computer network, for selectively recording audio and videodata packets, for organizing this stored information and for displayingthe stored information upon request, such that communication sessionswith computer network-based “telephone” systems can be logged.

The principles and operation of a method and a system according to thepresent invention may be better understood with reference to thedrawings and the accompanying description.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplarysystem for logging and displaying audio and/or visual data fromcommunication sessions performed over a computer network. A computerlogging system 10 features a user computer 12 connected to acommunication session management unit 13. Communication sessionmanagement unit 13 is in turn connected to an intranet 14 through anetwork interface card (NIC) 16.

User computer 12 includes a user interface 18, which is preferably a GUI(graphical user interface), which is displayed on a display unit 20.User interface 18 preferably enables the user to enter such informationas the definition of the parties whose calls should to be monitoredand/or logged, and which also preferably enables the user to enter atleast one command for retrieving and displaying a communication session.

Display unit 20 is preferably a computer monitor. The user is able tointeract with user computer 12 by entering data and commands through adata entry device 22. Data entry device 22 preferably includes at leasta keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse, and more preferablyincludes both a keyboard and a pointing device. According to onepreferred embodiment of the present invention, user computer 12 is a PC(personal computer). Alternatively and preferably, user computer 12 is a“thin client” such a net computer which is a computer able tocommunicate on an IP-based network. One example of such a net computeris the JavaStation™ (Sun Microsystems). The advantage of such netcomputers is that they allow the user to interact with complex,sophisticated software programs, yet generally do not have all of thepowerful computing capabilities of currently available PC computers.

Intranet 14 could be a LAN or a WAN, for example. The connection betweencommunication session management unit 13 and intranet 14 occurs throughNIC 16. NIC 16 is preferably any standard, off-the-shelf commercialproduct which enables communication session management unit 13 to beconnected to any suitable computer network (for example, Etherlink IIISA/PCMCIA Adapter or Etherlink III PCI Bus-Master Adapter (3c590) of3-Com™, or NE2000 Adapter of Novell™ or any other such suitableproduct). Examples of such suitable computer networks include, but arenot limited to, any standard LAN such as Ethernet (IEEE Standard 802.3),Fast Ethernet (IEEE Standard 802.10), Token Ring (IEEE Standard 802.5)and FDDI.

All data packet traffic on intranet 14 is passed to a filtering module24 through NIC 16. As shown in more detail in FIG. 3 below, filteringmodule 24 screens the data packets in order to determine which datapackets fulfill the following criteria. Briefly, the data packets shouldbe IP packets with headers according to the H.225 and H.245 standards,indicating voice and/or video traffic. As noted previously, thesestandards define media stream packet construction and synchronizationfor visual telephone systems and the control protocol for multimediacommunications.

Filtering module 24 then preferably passes substantially only those datapackets which meet these criteria to a management module 28. In the ZoneConfiguration of the system of the present invention, shown in FIG. 7below, filtering module 24 preferably also transfers messages from othercommunication session management units.

Management module 28 receives the data packets passed through byfiltering module 24, and analyzes the received data packets. Optionallyand preferably, a database 26 stores such information as the IPaddresses of parties whose communication sessions should be logged, aswell as the conversion table associating each party with at least one IPaddress, for example. The stored list of IP addresses representing thoseparties whose calls should be logged is preferably user-defined. As usedherein, the term “party” refers to a person or persons communicatingthrough a computer network-based telephone system. The latter preferredrequirement significantly reduces the amount of data stored by includingonly data which is of interest to the user. Management module 28analyzes and manages data in accordance with the applicable H.225 andH.245 specifications, including the H.245 control function, RASsignaling function and call signaling function, substantially asdescribed above in the “Description of the Background Art” section.

Management module 28 analyzes the packets in order to determine thespecific communication session to which the data packets belong, thetype of data compression being used (if any), and whether the datapackets were sent from an IP address which should be monitored.Management module 28 must perform this analysis since filtering module24 simply passes all data packets which fulfill the criteria describedbriefly above (see FIGS. 3A-3D) for more detail). Since these packetsare passed without regard to any of the information stored in database26, management module 28 must compare the rules of database 26 to theinformation present in the packet header of each packet in order todetermine whether the received packet should be stored.

Those received packets which fulfill the rules of database 26 are thenstored in a storage medium 30, which is preferably a high capacitydigital data storage device such as a hard disk magnetic storage device,an optical disk, a CD-ROM, a ZIP or DVD drive, or a DAT cassette, or acombination of such devices according to the operational needs ofspecific applications, or any other suitable storage media. Preferably,the specific communication session or “telephone call”, with which eachdata packet is associated, is also stored in order for that session tobe reconstructed and displayed at a later time.

Upon request by the user, management module 28 can then retrieve one ormore data packets from storage medium 30 which are associated with oneor more communication sessions. The retrieved packet or packets are thentransferred to a data restore module 32. Data restore module 32 ispreferably capable of manipulating these retrieved packets to restore aparticular communication session by using the RTP (Real Time Protocol).As described in further detail below with regard to FIGS. 4C and 5, inthose systems which follow the RTP, the data packets are sent with atime stamp in the header rather than just a sequence number. Such a timestamp is necessary for audio and video stream data, in order for thedata packets to be reassembled such that the overall timing of thestream of data is maintained. Without such a time stamp, the propertiming would not be maintained, and the audio or video streams could notbe accurately reconstructed.

The communication sessions are restored from the reconstructed streamsof data packets by using the applicable audio and/or video CODEC's. ACODEC is a non-linear method for the conversion of analog and digitaldata. Thus, an audio CODEC enables the digitized audio data in relevantdata packets to be converted to analog audio data for display to theuser as audible sounds, for example. Suitable CODEC's are described ingreater detail below with regard to FIG. 5.

In order for the user to receive the display of the reconstructedcommunication session, system 10 preferably features an audio unit 34and a video unit 36, collectively referred to as a “communicationsession display unit”. More preferably, both audio unit 34 and videounit 36 are capable of both receiving audio or video input,respectively, and of displaying audio or video output. At the veryleast, audio unit 34 and video unit 36 should be able to display audioor video output, respectively. For example, audio unit 34 couldoptionally include an microphone for input and a speaker or an earphonefor output. Video unit 36 could optionally include a video monitor ordisplay screen for output and a video camera for input, for example.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of system 10 of FIG. 1, showing theoverall system of software modules of system 10 in more detail.Reference is also made, where appropriate, to flow charts showing theoperation of these software modules in more detail (FIGS. 3A-3D and FIG.5), as well as to descriptions of the headers of the different types ofdata packets (FIGS. 4A-4D).

As shown, system 10 again includes a connection to intranet 14 throughNIC 16. As the packets are transmitted through intranet 14, NIC 16intercepts these data packets and passes them to filtering module 24.

Filtering module 24 has two components. A first filtering component 38examines the header of the data packet, which should be an IP typepacket with the correct header, as shown in FIG. 4A below. Next, firstfiltering component 38 passes the data packet to a second filteringcomponent 40. Second filtering component 40 then determines the type ofIP data packet, which could be constructed according to the H.225,H.245, RTP or RTCP standards.

As shown with reference to FIG. 3A, first filtering component 38 andsecond filtering component 40 operate as follows. In step one, a packetis received by filtering module 24. The packet is given to firstfiltering component 38, which then determines whether the packet is anIP type packet in step two. Such a determination is performed accordingto the structure of the header of the data packet, an example of whichis shown in FIG. 4A. A header 42 is shown as a plurality of boxes, eachof which represents a portion or “field” of the header. The number ofbytes occupied by each portion is also shown, it being understood thateach layer consists of 32 bits. The first portion of the header, a“VERS” portion 44, is the protocol version number. Next, an “H. LEN”portion 46 indicates the number of 32-bit quantities in the header. A“SERVICE TYPE” portion 48 indicates whether the sender prefers thedatagram to travel over a route with minimal delay or a route withmaximal throughput. A “TOTAL LENGTH” portion 50 indicates the totalnumber of octets in both the header and the data.

In the next layer, an “IDENTIFICATION” portion 52 identifies the packetitself. A “FLAGS” portion 54 indicates whether the datagram is afragment or a complete datagram. A “FRAGMENT OFFSET” portion 56 speciesthe location of this fragment in the original datagram, if the datagramis fragmented. In the next layer, a “TIME TO LIVE” portion 58 contains apositive integer between 1 and 255, which is progressively decrementedat each route traveled. When the value becomes 0, the packet will nolonger be passed and is returned to the sender. A “TYPE” portion 60indicates the type of data being passed. A “HEADER CHECKSUM” portion 62enables the integrity of the packet to be checked by comparing theactual checksum to the value recorded in portion 62.

The next layer of header 42 contains the source IP address 64, afterwhich the following layer contains the destination IP address 66. Anoptional IP OPTIONS portion 68 is present, after which there is padding(if necessary) and a data portion 70 of the packet containing the databegins.

The structure of the header of the data packet is examined by firstfiltering component 38 to determine whether this header has thenecessary data fields in the correct order, such that the header of thedata packet has a structure according to header 42. First filteringcomponent 38 only allows those packets with the correct header structureto pass, as shown in step 3A. Otherwise, the packets are dumped as shownin step 3B.

Those packets with the correct header, or “IP packets”, are then passedto second filtering component 40. Second filtering component 40 thenperforms the remainder of the filtering steps. In step 3A, secondfiltering component 40 examines the IP packets to determine their typefrom the data portion of the packet as shown in FIG. 4A. The packetscould be in one of four categories: H.225, H.245, RTP and RTCP. Thesteps of the method for H.225 packets are shown in FIG. 3A, while theprocedures for the remaining packet types are shown in FIGS. 3B-3D,respectively.

Once the type of the packet has been determined, both the packet itselfand the information regarding the type of packet are both passed tomanagement module 28, as shown in FIG. 2. The packet is then passed tothe relevant component within management module 28, also as shown inFIG. 2, for the recording process to be performed. The recorded packetsare stored in storage module 30, as described in greater detail belowwith regard to FIGS. 3C and 3D.

If the packet has been determined to be an H.225 packet according to theheader of the packet (see FIG. 4B), the packet is passed to an H.225call control module 78 within management module 28, as shown in FIG. 2.The steps of the management method are as follows, with reference toFIG. 3A. In step 4A of FIG. 3A, the H.225 packet is examined to see ifit is a setup packet, which is determined according to the structure ofthe data in the packet. This structure is specified in the H.225.0recommendation, and includes at least the following types ofinformation:

-   -   protocolIdentifier (the version of H.225.0 which is supported);    -   h245Address (specific transport address on which H.245 signaling        is to be established by the calling endpoint or gatekeeper);    -   sourceAddress (the H.323.sub.—ID's for the source);    -   sourceInfo (contains an EndpointType to enable the party being        called to determine whether the call includes a gateway or not);        and    -   destinationaddress (this is the address to which the endpoint        wants to be connected).

Other types of data are also required, as specified in the H.225.0Recommendation. This data structure enables H.225 call control module 78to determine whether the packet is a setup packet.

If this packet is a setup packet, then the first branch of the method isfollowed. The source port is taken from a source port field 74 of anH.225 header 72, and the destination port is taken from a destinationport field 76 (see FIG. 4B). In step 5A, database 26 of FIG. 1 is thenexamined to determine whether either of the corresponding terminals isdefined as a recording terminal; that is, whether communication sessionsinitiated by the IP address of this terminal should be monitored. Iftrue, then in step 6A, the terminal status is set as a start sessionrequest from the terminal corresponding to the source port.

Alternatively, the packet is examined to see if it is a connect packetin step 4B, which is determined according to the structure of the datain the packet. This structure is specified in the H.225.0recommendation, and includes at least the following types ofinformation:

-   -   protocolIdentifier (the version of H.225.0 which is supported);    -   h245Address (specific transport address on which H.245 signaling        is to be established by the calling endpoint or gatekeeper);    -   destinationInfo (contains an EndpointType to enable the caller        to determine whether the call includes a gateway or not); and    -   conferenceID (contains a unique identifying number to identify        the particular conference).

If the packet is a connect packet, then the second branch of the methodis followed. In step 5B, the flag indicating the terminal status isexamined to determine if the terminal status is set as a start sessionrequest. In step 6B, the details of the call signal are saved in a callprogress database 78 of storage medium 30 (see FIG. 2). These detailspreferably include the source and destination IP addresses, the sourceand destination ports; the time at which the communication session wasinitiated, and any other relevant information. In step 7B, the status ofthe terminal is set to “wait for the logic channel”.

If the packet has been determined to be an H.245 packet by secondfiltering component 40, the packet is passed to an H.245 call controlmodule 82 within management module 28, as shown in FIG. 2. Such H.245packets are necessary for H.245 signaling. H.245 signaling isestablished between two endpoints: an endpoint and a multipointcontroller, or an endpoint and a Gatekeeper (see FIGS. 6 and 7 below forexamples and a description of such endpoints). Each endpoint is capableof calling and of being called as part of a communication session.However, the system of the present invention only monitors, rather thaninitiating, such communication sessions. Thus, the system of the presentinvention uses the H.245 signaling to determine when the communicationsession has started in order to effectively record the necessary datapackets for the storage and later reconstruction of the session.

The steps of the management method for H.245 packets are as follows,with reference to FIG. 3B. In step 1A of FIG. 3B, the H.245 packet isexamined to determine if it is an open logical channel request packet.If it is, then in step 2A, the terminal status is examined to determineif the status is “wait for the logical channel”. If so, then in step 3Athe terminal status is set to “wait for acknowledgment”.

Alternatively, the H.245 packet is examined to determine if it is anopen logical channel acknowledgment packet, as shown in step 1B. If itis, then in step 2B, the terminal status is examined to determine if thestatus is “wait for acknowledgment”. If so, then in step 3B the terminalstatus is set to “wait for terminal capability”. In step 4B, thetransport address of the “called” or destination terminal is saved. Thistransport address is taken from the destination port field 76 of header72 (see FIG. 4B). It should be noted that H.225 and H.245 packets haveidentical header structures.

Also alternatively, the H.245 packet is examined to determine if it is aterminal capability set packet, as shown in step 1C. If it is, then instep 2C, the terminal capability is saved in call progress database 80(see FIG. 2). In step 3C, the terminal status is set to “in callprocess”, such that the communication session has been determined to beopened and such that management module 28 can now receive RTP datapackets.

If the packet has been determined to be a RTP packet by second filteringcomponent 40, the packet is passed to a RAS (registration, admissionsand status) control module 84 within management module 28, as shown inFIG. 2. The steps of the management method for RTP packets are asfollows, with reference to FIG. 3C. In step 1 of FIG. 3C, the terminalstatus is examined to see if it is “in call process”. If so then in step2, the RTP packets are saved in a RTP database 86 within storage medium30 (see FIG. 2). FIG. 4C shows the structure of the RTP packet header,which can be used to identify the communication session from which thepacket was taken.

Finally, if the packet has been determined to be a RTCP packet by secondfiltering component 40, the packet is passed to a RTCP control module 88within management module 28, as shown in FIG. 2. The steps of themanagement method for RTCP packets are as follows, with reference toFIG. 3D. In step 1 of FIG. 3D, the terminal status is examined to see ifit is “in call process”. If so then in step 2, the RTCP packets aresaved in call progress database 80 within storage medium 30 (see FIG.2). FIG. 4D shows the structure of the RTCP packet header, which can beused to identify the communication session from which the packet wastaken.

Thus, FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate the method of the present invention withregard to the filtering and storage of data packets which constitute therecorded communication session, as recorded by the system of the presentinvention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Of course, in addition to recordingsuch communication sessions, the system of the present invention is alsoable to retrieve and to replay these communication sessions to the user.The stored communication session, composed of stored data packets, canbe retrieved and displayed by data restore unit 32 of FIG. 2, inconjunction with audio unit 34 and video unit 36. The method ofretrieving and replaying sessions of interest is shown in FIG. 5, whilecertain other relevant portions of the system of the present inventionare shown in FIG. 2.

In step 1 of FIG. 5, the user inputs the information concerning thecommunication session which is to be retrieved and replayed. Thisinformation preferably includes the terminal number, or otherdesignation information concerning at least one of the parties of thecommunication session of interest; the time at which the sessionstarted; and the time at which the session ended. However, alternativelyother information could be included in place of this information, aslong as sufficient information is provided for the communication sessionof interest to be identified.

In step 2 of FIG. 5, call progress database 80 (see FIG. 2) is searchedby data restore unit 32 in order to find the details of thecommunication session(s) in the specified time range. These details arethen compared to the information entered by the user to locate at leastone communication session of interest in the call range.

In step 3, RTP database 86 of storage medium 30 (see FIG. 2) issearched, again by data restore unit 32, to find substantially all datapackets from the at least one communication session in the specifiedcall range. Optionally and preferably, in step 4, if the audio portioncommunication session was recorded in stereo, then the data packets aredivided into different audio channels.

In step 5, the data packets are restored by data restore unit 32 by anRTP (Real Time Protocol) software module 91 within data restore unit 32.RTP software module 91 orders the data packets within each channelaccording to the time stamp of each packet. As shown in FIG. 4C, an RTPpacket header 92 features several important fields: a timestamp field94, a synchronization source (SSRC) identifiers field 96 and acontributing source (CSRC) identifiers field 98. SSRC field 96 is usedto determine the source of the RTP packets (the sender), which has aunique identifying address (the SSRC identifier). The CSRC identifier inCSRC field 98 is used in a conference with multiple parties, andindicates the SSRC identifier of all parties. Timestamp field 94 is usedby RTP software module 91 to determine the relative time at which thedata in each packet should be displayed.

For example, preferably the audio stream data of the audio speech of oneperson is synchronized to that person's lip movements as shown in thevideo stream, a process known as “lip synchronization”. Suchsynchronization requires more than simply replaying audio and video dataat certain relative time points, since the audio and video data packetsmay not arrive at the same time, and may therefore have slightlydifferent timestamps.

Once the data packet has been correctly synchronized, the control of thedisplay of the audio data is then performed by an audio component 102 ofdata restore unit 32 according to one or more audio CODEC's (see FIG.2). The control of the display of the video data is then performed by avideo component 104 of data restore unit 32 according to one or morevideo CODEC's (see FIG. 2).

Suitable CODEC's include, but are not limited to, an audio codec usingCCITT Recommendation G.711(1988), Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) of voicefrequencies; an audio codec using CCITT Recommendation G.722 (1988), 7kHz audio-coding within 64 kbit/s; an audio codec using ITU-TRecommendation G.723.1 (1996), Speech coders: Dual rate speech coder formultimedia communications transmitting at 5.3, and 6.3 Kbps; an audiocodec using CCITT Recommendation G.728 (1992), Coding of speech at 16Kbps using low-delay code excited linear prediction; an audio codecusing ITU-T Recommendation G.729 (1996), Coding of speech at 8 Kbpsusing conjugate structure algebraic code-excited linear-prediction(CS-ACELP); a video codec using ITU-T Recommendation H.261 (1993), Videocodec for audiovisual services at px64 kbit/s; a video code using ITU-TRecommendation H.263 (1996), Video coding for low bit ratecommunication; and substantially any other similar coding standard.

As shown in FIG. 2, the audio data is displayed by audio unit 34, whichcould include a loudspeaker, for example. The video data is displayed byvideo unit 36, which could include a display monitor screen, forexample. Step 5 of FIG. 5 is then preferably repeated, such thatsubstantially the entirety of the communication session is displayed. Asshown in step 6, each data packet of the communication session isexamined to see if the call time is over. If the individual session hasnot completed, preferably step 5 is repeated. Alternatively andpreferably, if the call time is over, then call progress database 80 issearched to see if other communication sessions were recorded within thegiven time period, as shown in step 7. If there is at least one othersuch communication session, then preferably the method of FIG. 5 isrepeated, starting from step 2.

According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, severalconfigurations of the computer logging system are possible, examples ofwhich are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

According to a first embodiment of the system of the present invention,shown in FIG. 6, a typical basic configuration system 104 includes asingle communication session management unit 13, substantially as shownin FIGS. 1 and 2, according to the present invention. Communicationsession management unit 13 manages communication in a stand-aloneintranet-such as a LAN 106. LAN 106 is connected both to communicationsession management unit 13 and to a plurality of terminals 108,designated as “T1”, “T2” and so forth, which follow the H.323 protocol.Each terminal 108 is an endpoint on LAN 106 which provides forreal-time, two-way communications with another terminal 108, a gateway110, or a multipoint control unit 112. This communication consists ofcontrol, indications, audio streams, video streams, and/or data.Terminal 108 is optionally only capable of providing such communicationfor audio only, audio and data, audio and video, or audio, data andvideo. As noted previously in the “Description of the Background Art”section, the H.323 entity could be a terminal which is capable ofproviding audio and/or video communication as a “LAN telephone”, butcould also be a stand-alone audio or video telephone.

Gateway 110 (GW) is constructed according to H.323 and is an endpoint onLAN 106 which provides for real-time, two-way communications betweenterminals 108 on LAN 106 and other suitable terminals on a WAN (notshown), or to another such Gateway (not shown). Other suitable terminalsinclude those complying with Recommendations H.310 (H.320 on B-ISDN),H.320 (ISDN), H.321 (ATM), H.322 (GQOS-LAN), H.324 (GSTN), H.324M(Mobile), and V.70 (DSVD).

Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) 112 is an endpoint on LAN 106 whichenables three or more terminals 108 and gateways 110 to participate in amultipoint conference.

Preferably, system 104 also features a gatekeeper (GK) 114, which is anH.323 entity on LAN 106 which provides address translation and controlsaccess to LAN 106 for terminals 108, gateways 110 and MCUs 112.Gatekeeper 114 may also provide other services to terminals 108,gateways 110 and MCUs 112 such as bandwidth management and locatinggateways 110. Preferably, gatekeeper 114 enables the IP address ofterminals 108 on LAN 106 to be determined, such that the correct IPaddress can be determined “on the fly”.

In addition, LAN 106 may support non audio visual devices for regularT.120 data applications such as electronic whiteboards, still imagetransfer, file exchange, database access, etc.

In basic system 104, a single, stand-alone communication sessionmanagement unit 13 is used for monitoring, logging and retrieval of allaudio and/or visual calls either between any two or more terminals 108attached to LAN 106 or any call to which one or more of these terminals108 is a party. However, for the preferred embodiment of the system ofFIG. 6 which includes gatekeeper 114, as well as for the system of FIG.7, once the communication session has been opened, preferably RAScontrol module 84 also performs RAS signaling between the managementcontrol module and NIC 16 where necessary for the configuration of thesystem. Such signaling uses H.225.0 messages to perform registration,admissions, bandwidth changes, status, and disengage procedures betweenendpoints and gatekeepers. These messages are passed on a RAS SignalingChannel, which is independent from the Call Signaling Channel and theH.245 Control Channel. H.245 open logical channel procedures are notused to establish the RAS Signaling Channel. In LAN environments whichcontain a Gatekeeper (a Zone), the RAS Signaling Channel is openedbetween the endpoint and the Gatekeeper. The RAS Signaling Channel isopened prior to the establishment of any other channels between H.323endpoints.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the system of the present inventionas a zone configuration system 16. A zone 118 is the collection of allterminals (Tx) 108, gateways (GW) 110, and Multipoint Control Units(MCU) 112 managed by a single gatekeeper (GK) 114. Zone 118 includes atleast one terminal 108, but does not necessarily include one or moregateways 10 or MCUs 112. Zone 118 has only one gatekeeper 114 as shown.However, in the preferred embodiment shown, zone 118 is preferablyindependent of LAN topology and preferably includes multiple LANsegments 120 which are connected using routers (R) 122 as shown or othersimilar devices.

Each monitored LAN segment 120 has a local communication management unit124 according to the present invention, of which two are shown. Acentral management unit 126 according to the present invention controlsall local communication management units 124. In addition to centralizeddatabase and control services, central management unit 126 can be usedfor the real-time monitoring and off-line restoration of audio and/orvideo communication sessions from a single point. Central managementunit 126 is optionally and preferably either a dedicated unit similar instructure to local communication management units 124 but without thestorage capability, or central management unit 126 is alternatively andpreferably integrated with local communication management units 124 toprovide the functionality of both local communication management unit124 and central management unit 126 in a single station. Localcommunication management units 124 are preferably either communicationmanagement units 13 substantially as described in FIGS. 1 and 2, oralternatively and preferably are simpler units which lack the capabilityto retrieve and display a communication session locally.

In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention (notshown), multi-user operation based on Client/Server architecture ispreferably supported for basic system 104 and zone system 116. Anunlimited number of “Client” stations may be connected anywhere on theLAN, providing users with management and monitoring/retrievalcapabilities determined by the authorization level of each specificuser.

It will be appreciated that the above descriptions are intended only toserve as examples, and that many other embodiments are possible withinthe spirit and the scope of the present invention.

1. A method for storing at least a portion of a computer network-basedtelephone session, the telephone session being performed on a computernetwork between a packet source and a packet destination, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) receiving data packets on the computernetwork; (b) analyzing each said data packet to determine if said datapacket is a session packet; (c) if said data packet is said sessionpacket, filtering at least data in said data packet to determine if saiddata includes session data; (d) if said data includes session data,analyzing said session data to determine a communication session towhich each data packet belongs; and (e) storing said data such that saiddata comprises a portion of the telephone session.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the session-packet analyzing step includes the step ofdumping any data packets that are not recorded in the database.
 3. Amethod for storing at least a portion of a computer network-basedcommunication session being performed on a computer network between apacket source and a packet destination, the method comprising the stepsof: (a) receiving data packets on the computer network; (b) filteringeach of the received data packets to accept the data packets that areassociated with a session to be monitored; (c) analyzing the data withinthe accepted data packets to determine a communication session to whicheach accepted data packet belongs; and (d) storing a portion of thecommunication session performed on the computer network.
 4. The methodof claim 3, including the additional step of analyzing the filtered datapackets transmitted over the computer network to determine if thefiltered data packets contain audio data, video data, or both audio andvideo data.
 5. The method of claim 3 including the additional step ofanalyzing the filtered data packets transmitted over the computernetwork to determine if the filtered data packets contain audio data. 6.The method of claim 3 including the additional step of analyzing thefiltered data packets transmitted over the computer network to determineif the filtered data packets contain video data.
 7. The method of claim3 wherein the session to be monitored has a packet address which is oneof an IP address of the packet source and the IP address of the packetdestination.
 8. The method of claim 3, wherein individual data packetsare accepted by the filtering step if such data packets have an addresswhich is associated in a database with a session to be monitored.
 9. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the audio data, video data, or audio andvideo data from the data packets are stored on a storage media that isaccessible through the computer network.
 10. The method of claim 3,wherein the computer network is a local area network (LAN) or a widearea network (WAN).
 11. The method of claim 3 wherein the receiving stepfurther comprises receiving data packets from a plurality ofcommunication sessions.
 12. The method of claim 3 further comprising thesteps of: retrieving audio data, video data, or both audio data andvideo data contained in the data packets belonging to a specificcommunication session; restoring at least a portion of the communicationsession from the retrieved data; and displaying the at least a portionof the communication session.
 13. A method for storing at least aportion of a communication session being performed on a computer networkbetween a packet source and a packet destination, the method comprisingthe steps of: (a) receiving data packets on the computer network, thedata packets containing at least the portion of the communicationsession containing audio data, video data, or both audio data and videodata; (b) filtering the data packets using filtering information; (c)accepting the data packets according to the filtering information; (d)analyzing data within the accepted data packets to determinecommunication sessions to which the data packets belong; and (e) storingthe portion of the communication sessions contained in the data packetsaccording to the analyzing step.
 14. The method of claim 13, includingthe additional step of restoring the stored communication session. 15.The method of claim 13, including the additional step of including in adatabase information extracted from the accepted data packet includingone or more from the group of a packet address, a time, a date, achannel, a dialed number, and a caller identification.
 16. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the stored data packets are stored on a storage mediathat is accessible through the computer network.
 17. The method of claim13, wherein the computer network is a local area network (LAN) or a widearea network (WAN).
 18. The method of claim 13, including the additionalsteps of organizing the data packets of a specific communicationsession.
 19. The method of claim 18, including the additional step ofusing a database in the process of performing the organizing step. 20.The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of outputting audiodata, video data or audio and video data that is contained in thespecific communication session.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein theoutputting step further comprises the step of displaying any video dataincluded in the organized data packets on a computer monitor, a videomonitor or a display screen.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein theoutputting step further comprises the step of producing any audio dataincluded in the organized data packets as sound through an earphone or aloudspeaker.
 23. The method of claim 13, wherein the filteringinformation includes standards criteria.
 24. The method of claim 13,wherein the step of analyzing accepted data packets further includes thestep of determining if the accepted data packets contain audio data. 25.The method of claim 13, wherein the step of analyzing accepted datapackets further includes the step of determining if the accepted datapackets contain video data.